The Ties That Bind
by melpamene
Summary: An evil cult of brings a new evil to Sunnydale...and along with them they bring some old friends and new enemies
1. A Bloodied Messenger

It had been a long night, mainly due to it's lack of activity then anything else. Buffy Summers looked a little disappointed as she walked through the tall iron gates of the graveyard. She had only slayed one vamp.and a rather pathetic one at that. She sighed to herself and shook her head, kicking a few stray pebbles from the sidewalk as she started home.  
  
The Slayer glanced intothe night sky, taking in waxing moon for a moment. The constellation Orion was in full view, and it comforted her somehow. Somethings we're always the same. Orion would always be in the sky, her love life will always suck, and there will always be something to slay.  
  
She turned the corner onto Revello Drive in a lazy pace. She played a little with the hem of her grey sweater, looking rather bored, when a noise caught her attention. She froze, pulling the stake tucked in her sleeve out and clenching it tightly in her fist. She let her senses open to her surroundings, crawling out over the immediate area. She heard the sound again.a rustling and then scraping, like someone struggling, perhaps in the shrubs. Great, some action.  
  
She began stalking down the road, eyes narrowed, muscles tense. Someone was around, she could feel them now. Her gut clenched up for a second as her grip on the stake became tighter. She stopped her stalking forward and stayed still, looking across the street, down it, and then behind her.  
  
"Come on out and play.I know you're here." Buffy said in a slightly mocking tone. Her voice echoed a little down the residential street. The only lighting came from the dim streetlamps at the quiet moon.  
  
Another sound. Louder. More deliberate and methodical.walking? A shadow began to emerge from a set of manicured shrubs about 100 yards down the street. Buffy got into a defensive stance, waiting for a move, waiting for the stranger to be revealed.  
  
The shadow walked with a slight limp, uneasy with it's steps. Buffy thought for a brief moment it may be a drunk, and her stance returned to normal. She tucked a few strands of her blonde bangs behind her ears.  
  
"Look, buddy, move out before I call the cops.." Buffy started,her voice trailing when the shadow walked into the spotlight of a streetlamp. "Oh my god.."  
  
A woman, maybe 5'6", stood naked before Buffy. Her arms were slashed, her face bruised. There were ligature marks all across her legs and thighs. The woman was shaking violently and then collapsed to her knee's. Buffy jogged up beside her, noticing the same ligature marks on her back. She got down on her haunches  
  
"My God..what happenned to you?" Buffy whispered, a look of shock in her eyes at the wounds inflicted on this frail girl. Buffy pulled brown hair from the wound on her back, and caught a glimpse of a large tattoo. Before Buffy could study it, the girl whirled around, pressing her back to the lamp post. She had large brown eyes, eyes that were terrified.  
  
"They're coming. They're all coming." The girl whimpered, tears rimming her bloodshot eyes. Buffy stayed down, trying to seem unintimidating all though the Slayer mode was beginning to kick in again.  
  
"Who? Who did this to you?" Buffy asked simply. The girl brought her legs tightly to her chest.  
  
"They come to drink the blood of Hell." The girl said in a hoarse whisper, "They come to spread their disease. They start here. They start on the Hellmouth.." The girl's brown eyes glimmered for a second, and the black of her pupils began to bleed out into the chestnut brown iris, into the whites. Soon her eyes were all black, "They come to feed on you!" 


	2. Skeptical Guesses

The Ties That Bind  
  
Chapter 2: Dark Things  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy characters and am no way conneced to UPN, Joss Whedon or the cast.  
  
--  
  
The girl had passed out in Buffy's arms, most likely from the extent of her injuries. Buffy gently took the girl into her arms and carried her down the block. The girl's brown hair was covered in dry blood, dirt and plantlife. Buffy felt a mixture of anger and sadness as she studied her battered body. Who could do such a thing?  
  
Buffy carefully walked up the front steps of her home, using her booted foot to knock. Buffy could hear some shuffling inside and some muddled voices, and then saw a pair of brown eye staring out through the glass of the door. The eyes studied Buffy's face, and then the body in her arms. Buffy heard the lock shift, and the door was flung open, revealing Xander Harris looking quite concerned.  
  
"What the hell happenned?" Xander said, nearly gaping as Buffy pushed in, using her foot to close the door. Buffy immediately moved to the couch and laid the girl down.  
  
"I don't know. I found her on the way home from my patrol. She was speaking all funny." Buffy spoke quietly, not wanting to bring up the fact she made comments about a potential threat against them. "I don't know who did this to her."  
  
A set of foot-steps was heard on the staircase. Both Xander and Buffy looked up to see Dawn. She had a smile on her face that slowly faded into shock as she saw the unconcious girl.  
  
"Dawn, get me a blanket and the First Aid kit. Where's Willow and Tara?" Buffy said quickly, instictivly trying to usher her little sister away. Dawn stumbled for words as she took in the battered woman.  
  
"Uh..Willow and Tara went to the Magic Shop to help Giles and Anya with inventory or something." Dawn said in a slightly detached tone, "What happenned, Buffy?"  
  
"I don't know." Buffy said, sounding a little more aggravated. "Just get me what I asked for."  
  
Dawn nodded quickly and turned back up the stairs. Buffy and Xander both kneeled down beside the couch. Buffy began pulling hair from the girl's gaunt face and Xander studied her wounds.  
  
"Vampire?" Xander asked simply. Buffy shook her head.  
  
"No. Vampires don't do this. Atleast none that I know. She's been beaten.and.possibly raped..I can't tell." Buffy said quietly.  
  
"Human, maybe? Some messed up gang activity." Xander questioned, trying to be helpful. Buffy shrugged, but she looked skeptical.  
  
"Something here just doesn't seem right." Buffy pointed at the ligature marks across the girl's thighs, "Whip marks, methodical, patterned. And here, Branding marks." Buffy pointed at small symbols burned into the girl's breasts which she hadn't seen in the darkness of the streets. "If this was done by people, there as much a threat as any demon."  
  
Xander nodded slowly as Dawn came down the stairs with a bed sheet and a small first aid kit. Buffy laid the sheet down across the girl to retain some of her dignity, and handed the First Aid kit to Xander.  
  
"Get Giles here.I want him to look at those symbols." Her face was hard, the look in her eyes unmistakable. She walked over to the large trunk against the back of the couch and pulled out two small daggers. She slid them both in the back of her jeans, and checked her stake.  
  
"I'm going to scope the area.see if anything was left behind from where I found her. Don't let her leave. And don't go outside. I won't go far." Buffy said, voice direct, cold, pointed. Xander opened his mouth to protest, but shut it as Buffy's green eyes glared for the briefestof seconds. Dawn looked edgy, but nodded.  
  
"Lock the door behind me." Buffy stated simply, walking out. Dawn locked it quickly, sharing a glance with Xander that showed their uneasyness. 


End file.
